Derby Dolls
by littleladyfaberry
Summary: Melanie's having a rough day and Cozette talks it out while they skate. Post 1x17 "It's a Mint." Same universe as Coffee Date.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Cleosmacktra, you gonna head out any time soon?"

Cozette heard Bone of Arc ask Melanie the question from the sound booth. The ballerina-turned-derby-girl had been skating aimlessly for ten minutes after everyone else had hit the showers.

"Probably not," came the reply. "Is it cool if I stay here til they close up?"

"Fine by me." The stocky woman shrugged. "Just don't get locked in. Hey!" she called up to Cozette. "Make sure she gets out all right, huh?"

"Aye aye!"

Bone of Arc slung her skates over her shoulder and left Melanie to her skating and Cozette to her music. After a few minutes the new girl called down,

"Is it cool if I come down? I have a new mix and I want to hear how it sounds on the floor."

"Go for it."

Cozette climbed down from the booth and walked to the rink. The other girl barely glanced at her as she crossed into the middle area. She noticed that Mel's eyebrows were furrowed, obviously thinking about something less than pleasant. She had been watching Melanie during the entire practice (not in a creepy way, just observing) and hadn't seen her joke around or grin like she normally did.

A pair of skates were lying underneath one of the benches. They were a bit big, but Cozette put them on anyway and fell into sync with Mel. She didn't say anything, just let the music wash over them. It was Melanie who broke the silence.

"This is a cool song. Who sings it?"

"Art Brut."

"Never heard of him. Them?"

"Them. And not many people have."

"Oh no. You're a hipster."

"I prefer 'indie' or 'alternative,' thank you."

Mel broke into a smile for the first time that afternoon.

"Whatever. Hipsters never admit that they're hipsters."

"When was the last time you saw me wearing grandma sweaters or unnecessary glasses?"

"You were wearing some pretty hideous specs last week."

"Those were my actual glasses! I normally wear contacts."

"Sounds like something a hipster would say."

"Don't make me smash you into the railing." Cozette nudged her playfully. "Can I ask what's up? Even if you're having a bad day derby usually cheers you right up."

"Just stuff." Mel's frown came back.

"Ah. Got it."

"Yeah."

"You don't have to tell me. We can just skate and enjoy my awesome taste in music."

"I would totally tell you but..."

"But mini-Megan Hilty likes being your sole confidante and best friend. I get it."

"Pretty much." Melanie sighed. "Mini-Megan Hilty?"

"What? I know my Broadway. I've seen _Smash_."

"Do you know if Meg's neurotic?" The taller girl winced after saying it. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just...hard. She's got all this drama that she unloads on me...I mean, she talks to other people about it, but I get a majority of the crazy. But I can't dump on other people because she gets crazy jealous and I can't word vomit onto her because it's about her. And it's just..." She made a frustrated noise. "It's like exhausting! I love her to death and I hate when we're fighting, but if we don't get things resolved soon I'm gonna explode. Would it be so hard for her to support me in derby? I wasn't Team Charlie when she decided to date my brother, but at least I acknowledged it and didn't actively oppose her. Just because this is the first thing I've done without her since kindergarten doesn't mean she has to get all Charles Manson on me!"

Mel shrugged sheepishly after realizing that she'd been shouting. She took a second to calm down.

"But whatever. It's our thing. It's what we do. We fight."

"Is that a Notebook reference?"

"Oh yeah, that's where I heard it. But I mean, we aren't Noah and Allie..." She cleared her throat and changed the subject as the music switched tracks. "I think I've heard this song."

"Yeah? Dressy Bessy. It's a good one."

"Yeah, I think it was on a movie."

"It was on 'But I'm a Cheerleader,'" helped Cozette. "Have you seen it?"

"No," said Mel quickly. "Maybe I haven't heard it."

"Too bad, it's a hilarious movie. Good song, too."

They did a couple laps without saying anything, Melanie practicing her backwards skating and Cozette watching.

"What are you doing after the game on Friday?" the new girl asked. "Do you and Ginny and Boo and Sasha have plans?"

"Ginny's not coming, Boo's babysitting so her parents can go on a date, and Sasha's probably going out with Roman if she's not being weird. So...nothing. I'm doing nothing on Friday."

"Do you want to hang out? Go to my place and listen to music or watch a movie or something? Unless Ginny would have a stroke. She could come too."

"I think that'd be worse." Melanie rolled her eyes. "Let's do it. You and me. And Frankie? Ginny might want to come if Frankie's there. But only as much as she'd want to get a shot just to get the sticker afterward."

"He's going on some trip with my dad for the weekend."

"Cool, just you and me then?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Hey, girlies, building's closing," the janitor said over the P.A.

"I'm gonna go get my stuff," said Cozette. "See you later?"

"Later."

**A/N: I'm addicted to this ship. But I'm still going to work on my Sashanie fic too, no fear. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions, critiques, and/or suggestions!  
****(On a semi-related note, do you guys like Cozanie or Melazette better as a ship name? I like them both.)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Girls night this Friday?" asked Sasha as Ginny and Mel sat down at the lunch table the next day at school. As weird as it had been initially to have guys sitting with them in the cafeteria, the girls were used to the presence of Roman and Carl by now. They were even able to talk as naturally as they had before the advent of the men.

"If I wear a bra can I come?"

"No, but you can go away now dressed as you are," Melanie shot at Dez, who had appeared at her shoulder out of nowhere. "Besides, it's not girls night. We always have it on the second and fourth Friday and the third Saturday."

"This Friday is the second Friday," Carl chipped in.

"He's right," Boo affirmed, giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek.

"Why, do you have plans?" Ginny asked Mel.

"Maybe."

"You never have plans."

"I do sometimes."

"You're like the queen of not doing things or doing things spur of the moment. You don't plan."

"Maybe I feel like shaking things up."

"What are you doing on Friday?"

"I have derby, geeze!"

"Oh."

"Yep, exactly the reaction I was expecting. Big surprise I didn't want to tell you."

"Derby won't take all night," Sasha interjected before Ginny could respond. "The game ends at what, like nine? Just come over after you're done."

"Can't we have girls night on Saturday?"

"We're going out," said Boo and Carl at the same time.

"Wait, are _we _going out on Friday?" Dez asked, his face screwed up with the effort of trying to remember.

"In the words of the immortal Cher, as if!"

"Well, if it isn't Dez, who is it?" Ginny asked. "Wait. I can't even believe I'm asking. It's Cozette. Of course it's Cozette. You two are going sky diving or to Disneyland or to the moon because Cozette's the greatest person since Audrey Hepburn. Handy with a shotgun Cozette. Mysterious, Japanese and French speaking Cozette."

"She asked if I wanted to hang out yesterday and I thought everyone would be busy so I said yes."

"And you just forgot a tradition we've been doing for five years. Are you bored with us, Mel? Is that it? Is Cozette way more exciting than eating boring food and hanging out with your boring old friends?"

"Whoa, take it down a notch, blondie," Sasha interrupted before a fight broke out. "It's just one night. It's not like she's going to lock Mel in her basement and keep her there for fifty years."

"And I thought you were cool with Cozette since she set you up with Frankie," added Boo.

"'Cool' with Cozette does not extend to letting her steal my best friend!"

"Dude!" Sasha flicked a grape at Ginny's head. "Would you stop harping on Cozette? I had coffee with her. She's fine. She's cool. She's chill. You know who isn't cool or chill and is giving herself an ulcer for no reason? You. So take a deep breath and count to ten or whatever. And Mel? Maybe you could come to girls night after hanging with She-Whose-Name-I'm-Sick-of-Hearing?"

"Yeah," conceded Melanie.

"Everyone good?"

Everyone nodded and became very interested in their food. After the tension had mostly gone, Roman turned to Carl.

"I'm so glad I'm not a chick," he said conversationally.

"Yeah, we just have to date the crazy instead of actually being crazy," said Dez sagely.

"Go away, Dez!"

XXX

Melanie found herself looking forward to Friday more than she was willing to admit. If Sasha or Ginny asked why she was grinning, she would quickly shrug and attribute it to some stupid thing Charlie had done. She wasn't exactly bored with her usual friends, but the fact that Cozette had singled her out—Cozette who could have hung out with anyone in school or town or even state—well, it was flattering. It made Mel both excited and a little nervous.

Thankfully the extra energy translated into extra blocker power and the Derby Dolls totally wiped the floor with the Crashing Pumpkins. Unfortunately, Mel also took an elbow to the eye from Splat Benetar in the last run. By the time Cozette was finished with the music and met her at the door of the warehouse, the skin around her left eye was already starting to blacken.

"So what are we going to do?"

"I thought we'd go back to my place and put some ice on that shiner," the new girl replied. "And then we're going to do something that isn't a contact sport and doesn't require perfect vision."

"Were rugby and sharpshooting really on the agenda?"

"Well I hadn't ruled them out entirely until I saw that hit." Cozette grinned and led Mel to her white mo-ped. "Are you okay with taking the Vespa?"

"Yeah, of course."

"If you sling your bag on your back, could you hold mine in your lap?"

"No problem."

"And I don't have Frankie's helmet, is it all right if you wear your derby helmet? I don't want Bone of Arc kicking my butt for getting your head split open."

"Yep."

After putting her gear on, Mel swung her leg over the back and lightly placed her hands on Cozette's sides as the older girl strapped on her helmet.

"You're gonna wanna hold on tighter than that," she heard as the engine revved up. "I'm kind of a speed demon."

She wasn't kidding. By the time they reached Cozette's house, Mel was clinging to her more tightly than she had clung to anything in her life.

"Geeze," she said as they got off, shaking slightly. "And I thought Charlie drove fast."

"Speed feels different when you're inside a car. Are you hungry?"

"Almost always."

"Good. I'm starving. How do you feel about stir fry?"

"Never met a stir fry I didn't like."

"Perfect."

The girls let themselves in the front door and through the house to the kitchen. The whole house was comfortable, but there were boxes every here and there as if the family hadn't decided if they were going to stay in Paradise for sure. After turning the light on, Cozette immediately went to the freezer and got a bag of peas, which she tossed to Mel.

"Is this all we're sticking in it?" the taller girl asked.

Cozette laughed as she pulled a wok out from a cupboard.

"Those are for your eye. I couldn't find an ice pack. I mean, unless you want an all-pea stir fry?"

"Oh, duh. Sorry."

"No need to apologize." She continued to bustle around the kitchen, grabbing a knife and cutting board, vegetables, and some already cooked rice.

"Can I do anything?"

"Yeah, can you grab that oil from this cupboard? I can't quite reach it."

"This isn't so different from hanging out with Ginny and Boo and Sasha," said Mel as she took the bottle and handed it to Cozette. "I'm always on giraffe patrol with them too."

"Giraffe patrol?"

"You know, getting stuff down from high places. Unless Ginny's feeling stubborn. Then she'll climb on counters and stools just so she won't have to ask for help."

"Sounds about right. Do I dare ask how she felt about us hanging out tonight?"

"Well she hasn't cursed you and your future offspring that I could hear, but she's hasn't talked to me all day either."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. We're due for a big fight, we have them all the time. If it hadn't been about this it would've been about something else."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better, but I guess I'll take it." Cozette poured the vegetables she'd been chopping into the wok and listened to them hiss as they hit the oil. "Do you know what happened with her and my brother? I set them up hoping that they might end up together and maybe she'd chill about the whole you and me thing, but I haven't seen them together since then."

"Pears," said Mel after thinking for a second. "I think they were painting pears? Or he was teaching her how to do art?" She frowned. "But that was like two weeks ago. And she hasn't mentioned him lately. Has he talked about her?"

"Frankie doesn't really talk about girls. We're tight, but he's still my brother, you know? I don't want to think about someone getting it on with him."  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Even seeing Charlie hold a girl's hand is enough to make me puke."

"Totally." Cozette stirred the rice into the vegetables. "This should be done in a few minutes. Can you grab some bowls from there" she nodded to a cupboard "and some forks from there?"

Melanie did as she was told and the girls headed to Cozette's room with their steaming bowls of stir fry. She wasn't sure what she expected the room to look like—perhaps cluttered with foreign objects and torches maybe?—but as soon as she walked in she knew it fit Cozette perfectly. Like Sasha, the girl had a mirror and barre in one corner and a queen-sized bed that was neatly made. A bookshelf held books like _The Baghavad Ghita_ and _Crime and Punishment_. There were indeed foreign-looking objects scattered here and there, like a tribal mask hanging over her desk and a sari draped over the back of a comfortable chair.

"There's less stuff than I thought there would be," Mel remarked, sitting on the floor.

"That's the perk of moving zillions of times." Cozette perched cross-legged on the edge of her bed. "You lose a lot of stuff in the process. 'You can't take it with you' applies to moving and death. This is everything I thought I absolutely couldn't leave behind."

"I have so much crap I should probably just burn my house down."

"You can't have _that_ much stuff."

"You don't even know. I still have assignments from like first grade. Not just shoebox dioramas either. Like, stupid math quizzes and handwriting exercises."

"Wow. I wish I had some of the little things from when I was younger. I don't think I even have the shoebox dioramas."

"Trust me, it isn't worth it," said Mel wryly. "The fact that I still couldn't spell 'delicious' until fourth grade is forever preserved for future generations. And you better believe that Charlie hasn't forgotten."

Cozette laughed and Melanie liked the feeling it gave her in her chest. For the next few hours, they talked about nothing and everything, music and school and all the places Cozette had lived and if there was life on other planets and why sharks looked so dumb and terrifying at the same time. It was so easy to talk to the new girl. She was disappointed when she looked at her phone and saw that it was ten to midnight and that she had six text messages, five from Sasha and one from Boo.

**You gonna be joining us any time soon? (10:15 p.m.)**

** Seriously though blondie's losing her shit. (10:48 p.m.)**

** I haven't seen her this passive aggressive aggressive since that time you beat her in Monopoly. (10:50 p.m.)**

** GET YOUR ASS HERE (11:16 p.m.)**

** BRING NEW KID IF YOU MUST BUT GET HERE NOW (11:30 p.m.)**

** Hey, Mel, are you still coming? (11:33 p.m.)**

"The gang wants their giraffe back?"

"You got it. Can you drop me off at Sasha's?"

"_Mais oui. _And this time I'll go more slow."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to. So I can have more time with you."

Melanie didn't answer, just grinned, enjoying the fluttering she got in her stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Some platonic Minny. Spoilers for Season 1 finale. No Cozette in this chapter. I miss her. She'll be back next chapter though. Also I didn't realize how much I write about food until I was reviewing my fics and was suddenly starving. Oh well. Mi dispace. **

"Bout time," said Sasha with an eye roll when Mel eased the door to the apartment open. "What happened to your face?"

"And a good Friday night to you too, Grumpy Gills." Mel unceremoniously tossed her bag on the floor. "Hey, Boo. Ginny."

Boo answered with a smile and a wave, but Ginny stubbornly kept her eyes glued to the screen where Audrey Hepburn was singing "Moon River."

"Are you hungry?" asked Sasha.

"Little bit."

"Come help me grab you some stuff for gyros."

"Gyros? I don't think I'll ever get used to Betty Crocker Sasha," said Melanie as she followed her friend into the kitchen.

"Oh please. I'm good at everything. You should've expected Betty Crocker Sasha from the moment you met me." Sasha lowered her voice. "That's quite the shiner. Did you at least win the bout, Rocky?"

"Yeah, we kicked ass."  
"Good. Do you need anything for your eye?"

"Nah, it's stopped stinging. I'll come grab an ice pack if I need it."

"And how was hanging out with She-Whose-Name-I'm-Sick-of-Hearing?"

"It was cool." She shrugged. "Has Ginny really been impossible all night?"

"You know how sometimes she talks too much and then in a split second doesn't say anything for huge stretches of time and goes to the bathroom a lot and you're not sure if she's going to drown herself in the toilet or just cry all over your rug?"

"Yep."

"It's been like that." Sasha finished putting the gyro together and popped it into the microwave.

"Yikes."

"We tried everything but this whole Cozette thing might be the Faye Mendelssohn that catapults her into a world of dog-napping and punch-flinging."

"Crap. What should I do?"

"How the hell should I know? You're the blondie whisperer. Do whatever you've been doing for the past fifteen years."

The snarky brunette passed Mel her food and went back into the living room. Mel grabbed a can of rootbeer and followed her. She tried to sit next to Ginny on the sofa, but the blonde immediately moved onto the floor.

_This is gonna be a long night, _she thought. _But at least this gyro is boss._

XXX

It was somewhere around one in the morning and Boo and Sasha had fallen asleep nestled up together on the floor. The menu for _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ had been playing on loop for the past half hour or so. Mel thought she would be able to sleep through it, but she finally got up from the couch, tip-toed around her slumbering friends, and turned the TV off. Ginny had gotten up right after the movie ended and went to sleep in Sasha's bed. She hadn't relented in her silent treatment all night. If she made a comment about Audrey Hepburn being flawless or how dishy George Peppard looked, it was always directed at Boo or Sasha. Even when Mel made her most amazing cracks, Ginny's face remained stoic.

Sure, Mel was pissed that Ginny was taking her hanging out with Cozette so hard, but that didn't mean she didn't care. She crept to Sasha's room and peeked inside to see if her best friend was sleeping.

Melanie had lost count of how many sleepovers she'd had with Ginny. She knew how it sounded when she was faking being asleep (for when her mom came to check on them) and how it sounded when she was actually asleep. Her sleep self's calm, measured breaths could never be faked by her waking self. Right then her breathing was too light for real sleep.

"Gin?" Mel called softly.

No answer.

"Ginny, I know you're awake."

Still nothing.

"If you were really asleep you'd be snoring."

"I do not snore!"

"Gotcha. Can I come in?"

"Are you going to come in even if I say no?"

"Absolutely. And I'll probably jump on you too."

"You're the worst."

"Yep."

The taller girl flopped as quietly as she could next to her friend. The shorter girl turned away from her.

"Come on, ducky, what's the matter? Are you really that mad that I hung out with Cozette tonight?"

"Yes," came the muffled response.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me. Why do you keep saying that?"

"You like Cozette."

"Well, yeah, but I like you too. And I've known you longer."

"You're going to get tired of me."

"How long have we known each other? And how many fights have we had? And yet here I am, ready to tickle you until you stop being such a pansy and say we're good."

"Don't you dare."

"Say we're good."

Mel teasingly ran her fingers over Ginny's sides.

"We're good!" squealed the blonde "We're good, we're good, don't tickle me!"

"Shh," said Mel, wrapping her arms around her best friend. "You'll wake up the entire building making noises like that."

They lay like that for a while, Melanie enjoying how warm Ginny was, how familiar she smelled, how comfortable it was to just be there, hearing her breathe. At one point, she had thought she was in love with her best friend. Maybe she had been. But Ginny had had Josh for forever and then she'd been obsessed with Frankie... And about the same time, Mel had started getting that weird feeling in her stomach when Cozette would pass her or smile at her or acknowledge her existence. Speaking of...

"Ginny?"

"Mmm?"

"What happened with Frankie?"

She felt Ginny tense up.

"Why do you ask? What did Cozette tell you?"

"She didn't tell me anything. She was wondering why setting you two up didn't work."

Ginny made a funny choking noise.

"She did? That's so _kind_ of her."

"Ginny, what...?"

"That's just so kind and considerate and thoughtful to ask what happened between me and her virginity-stealing brother!"

"Wait, what?" Melanie took a second to take in what had just been said. "Oh my god, Ginny, did Frankie rape you? That is SO not okay! Why didn't you tell me? When did it happen? Oh my god, are you pregnant? I am going to go all derby on his sorry ass the next time I—"

"He didn't rape me, Mel."

"Then what happened?"

"So Cozette got him to give me art lessons and it was fine but he'd never look at me except in that faraway way of his. And I didn't know how to get his attention except to be, well, feminine, so I showed a little more boob than usual and asked if he wanted to make out and it just kind of...happened." Ginny was shaking slightly. "So I guess it isn't fair to call him a virginity-stealer, but I just feel like an idiot, you know? I gave him the one card I have and then he doesn't even so much as look my way for the next two weeks and all of a sudden you're besties with his sister and what if you leave me too?"

"I'm not going to leave you." Melanie squeezed Ginny a little tighter. "Never. Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

"I keep thinking that maybe it didn't happen... Maybe I'll wake up and it'll all have been a dream." She started to cry softly. "Mel, I wanted it to be special. And now I'm not a virgin anymore and I can't give it to a guy after he took me to prom and sent me flowers and Frankie will tell all the guys that I'm easy and everyone will think I'm a slut."

"The first person to call you a slut is going to get a face full of Hulk," Mel vowed. "Don't cry, ducky, it'll be all right."

Ginny cried until she couldn't cry anymore and fell asleep in Melanie's embrace. They were still like that when Sasha came in the room at eleven and threw pillows at them.

"Glad to see you two have made up," she said. "Now get moving or Madame Fanny will lecture us on the virtues of being punctual again."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Surprise! I'm updating less than a day after my previous update! Sadly, this will not become a habit. It just so happened to have a little bit of inspiration and enough free time to type it up. I hope we can still be friends when I publish chapter 5 in three years.**

**As always, thanks for your wonderful reviews! Enjoy!**

"Is there anything worse than Saturday rehearsal?" Matisse sighed to her friend as they began stretching.

"Having to bind your boobs," said Ginny. "Twice."

"Talking to The Ringer and tell her to give you your part back," added Sasha.

"Trying out for the Joffrey three years in a row and not getting in," continued Boo.

"Bam," said Melanie, giving the younger girl a gentle smack on the head, "Perspective, twerp. Now you have it."

"Careful, Melanie," cautioned Madame Fanny, breezing into the studio, "You wouldn't want to—my god, what did you do to your eye? It looks like you've been Black Friday shopping with George Foreman."

"I tripped."

Madame Fanny paused to scrutinize her pupil's (hopefully) innocent face, then gave an imperceptible nod.

"Fine. Just don't trip and break any bones before the next recital."

"Yes, Madame Fanny."

Mel tried not to show how relieved she felt that she'd kept her derby secret from her ballet teacher for one more day. Cozette caught her eye from across the floor and winked. She grinned back automatically, but her heart dropped. Logically, she knew that what happened between Ginny and Frankie didn't have anything to do with Cozette. And yet, she couldn't stop the uneasy feeling in her stomach.

As they warmed up, Melanie tried to think through her Frankie-Ginny-Cozette problem. Frankie had screwed Ginny over. That was unacceptable. She'd gone ape-shit on a girl who had hurt Charlie and he was just her brother. Ape-shit did not begin to cover what she would do to Frankie. She was thinking something along the lines of Joan Cusak in "Mr. Wrong." Covering him in honey and then having ants eat him alive sounded appropriate for the amount of pain he'd caused her best friend.

On the other hand, if she hurt Frankie, she hurt Cozette by extension. They were together almost all the time. It wasn't like Cozette gave Frankie rides when Frankie ratted her out to her parents either. Like, they _chose _to hang out. And seemed to enjoy it. So if she kicked Frankie in the junk like she so badly wanted to, would that make Cozette stop smiling at her in that heart-stopping way?

Probably.

Shit.

Which was another thing. Why exactly did she like the heart-stopping smiles from that amazingly hot unicorn? Why did they make her more excited than, say, Ginny's smile or Boo's smile or even Sasha's sarcastic smile?

_Stop being stupid on purpose. You're not Charlie_, she thought. _Of course you know why. You're totally smitten with this stupid amazingly hot unicorn. You want to make her laugh. You want to hold onto her while you zip around the town on that stupid scooter. You are butt crazy in love with Cozette._

Which brought her back to her original question. Did she risk ticking off her crush by beating up her scumbag brother? Or did she risk throwing Ginny's sanity down the toilet by sitting by and doing nothing? Was there a happy medium?

Oh.

_ There's _an idea.

What if Cozette had known about Frankie and Ginny all along? What if she was just going to use her (Melanie) for sex and then never talk to her again? What if they were both crazy, heart-breaking sex maniacs? What if it was hereditary? They never talked about the important stuff in biology. Who cares how blue eyes are passed on if the sex addict gene hadn't been explained yet?

Melanie was so engrossed in her thoughts that she barely remembered what they practiced and robotically went to the dressing room to change.

"Hey, Cleosmacktra." Cozette caught her on the stairs apart from Boo, Sasha, and Ginny.

"Oh. Hey."

"Glad to see Ginny's talking to you again."

"Yeah." Mel shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"Are you okay?" Cozette looked concerned. "I was going to ask if you'd be interested in seeing a movie in Oxnard tonight, but you seem…off."

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Ginny and Frankie slept together," Mel blurted before she could stop herself.

Cozette didn't respond immediately. She looked at Melanie, then at the door Ginny had just gone through, then back at Melanie. She took Mel's arm and led her back into the dressing room.

"Run that by me again?"

"Your brother and my best friend did it."

"What? When?"

"I don't know, a few weeks ago?"

"Is she pregnant?"

"No, she told me they used protection."

"Well that's a relief. Is she okay?"

"She feels like an idiot and a whore and your stupid brother hasn't so much as looked at her since it happened, so no, she's not okay." Melanie felt like punching a hole in the wall. "I mean, who the hell even does that? Is this something you guys picked up while living abroad? Sleeping with whoever catches your eye and then not having to deal with any kind of emotional or physical consequences? Is that the influence of the French or the Italian?"

"Whoa. Mel." Cozette narrowed her eyes. "When did this become about me? Yeah, that sucks that Ginny feels used. I think that everyone's first time should be with someone they trust. But I thought that you would understand more than anyone that brothers can be idiots and that sisters are separate beings. You can be mad at Frankie. Hell, I'm getting pissed just thinking about it. We were brought up better than that. But you can't just label me a nymphomaniac because my brother slept with your best friend."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just…the Hulk took over." Mel let out a frustrated breath. "I just really want to hurt your brother but I don't want you to not talk to me again because of it. So I had to lump you in with him so I felt better about things."

"It's cool, I get it. I like your passion and loyalty, just be careful what you do with them. So how's this for an idea- we go to a movie tonight and when Frankie gets back from his trip I grill him about his intentions concerning Ginny and if he doesn't give a satisfactory answer I let you come over and put ketchup-covered tampons in his bed."

Mel laughed, but gave Cozette a weird look.

"He knows jiu-jitsu so beating him up would be more effort than it's worth," explained Cozette. "And he's way squeamish when it comes to blood."

"Done." Melanie grinned. "What time is the movie?"

"It starts at eight. I'll pick you up at seven?"

"That sounds perfect."

"See ya later, Cleosmacktra."

Cozette winked again as she walked away and this time Mel didn't feel guilty for the back-flip her stomach did.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, I've been busy with school and...haha, don't believe that. I've been only kind of busy with school, but I've been watching Buffy religiously recently and it's sucked up all my free time. So my ficcing kind of fell by the wayside.**

**BUT nevertheless, here is chapter 5 (and no, I don't know how many chapters this is going to be). I don't actually know the timeframe of Bunheads during the second half of the first season, but I decided that it's fall because fall is my favorite season and that's the best time to hang out in the mountains.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! Mwah!**

The girls didn't end up seeing a movie that night because Cozette got called up last minute to DJ for some old person's birthday party at the Oyster Bar when the original choice didn't show. She promised Melanie that they'd do something the next day after getting some answers from Frankie.

Sunday afternoon Cozette knocked on the Segal's front door.

"I got it!" Mel hollered as Charlie went to open it.

"Since when do your loser friends knock?"

She ignored him and used one of her favorite roller derby moves to get him out of the way, her helmet swinging from her hand.

"Ow! What the hell, freak?"

"Hi, Cozette," she said, a little breathless from the exertion (and, who was she kidding, the sight of the gorgeous girl beaming at her). "Don't mind the trash—we keep meaning to have someone come take him away, but that would cost more money than he's worth, and besides, you know how bad the economy is these days."

"He doesn't seem so bad," the other girl commented as Charlie slunk away.

"Sheep's clothing. And he looks the most innocent after he's been taken down a notch. Shall we?"

"After you." Cozette stepped aside so Melanie could come out into the front yard. "Do you know somewhere we can go to talk in private?"

"Yeah, there's this little lake up in the canyon that no one visits this time of year," Mel said as they climbed onto the Vespa.

"Perfect."

Melanie couldn't have imagined a better way to spend the day than zipping along the streets of Paradise, holding on to Cozette (who smelled amazing), watching the fall colors flash by, and feeling the crisp breeze across her face. She could almost imagine that they were going to the lake to have a cute little picnic—nothing too cheesy, just a cozy lunch where they would eat sandwiches and chocolate and drink apple juice or something. And there would be no talk about other people having sex and the implications thereof.

"_The implications thereof_," thought Mel, half-amused, half-disgusted. _I do believe her culturedness is rubbing off on me. Culturedness. That's not a word. There. More Mel-like._

"This is beautiful!" Cozette gave Mel's arm a light squeeze when they arrived at their destination. "Do you come here a lot?"

"Sometimes when my dad feels like we need more family time we'll come up here and have a bonfire or something during the summer."

"It's gorgeous."

Cozette sat on one of the picnic tables and soaked in the scene. Her tall friend appreciated the picturesqueness of the blue-green lake, shimmering in the afternoon light, ensconced in a little valley, the sides of the mountains looming over it protectively, surrounded by firs and aspens, but she'd seen it enough times that it no longer made her silent with awe. Besides, they weren't there for the scenery, they were there for the privacy.

So she went to the edge of the lake and started skipping rocks until Cozette came down off of her scenerygasm.

"Sorry," the new girl apologized after five or so minutes, "I just...wow. I need to bring my camera up here. Anyway, I talked to Frankie."

"And?"

"And I don't know." She picked up a stone and ran her fingers over it. "He said that he doesn't believe in labels or being tied down, but that he actually likes Ginny."

"So why hasn't he called her?"

"He said he thought about it, but that he's more Taoist in his approach. He'd rather go with the flow and see what the universe brings him than initiate anything."

Melanie snorted.

"That is the most stupid-ass explanation of anything I have ever heard ever."

"It seems weird to people who've been brought up in Western culture," said Cozette with a shrug, then skipping her rock successfully fourteen times. "But Eastern philosophy is much more laid back and fluid. We lived in a village in China for a few years and the majority of the people there believed in that approach. Frankie really liked it. I found it pretty soothing myself."

"But he isn't living in China anymore," argued Mel. "He's in California and he can't just—"

"I know, Mel, I know. You didn't let me finish. He said he'd thought about talking to her again, maybe ask her out, but before he'd decided she sent him a note."

"A note?"

"Yeah, he showed it to me. It was..." she paused, looking for the right word. "Formal? She thanked him for the 'experience' and wished him well. It sounded like she didn't want to see him again."

"Oh, Ginny..." Melanie threw a handful of pebbles into the water and walked back to the picnic table to sit down. "Oh, Ginny, Ginny, Ginny."

"So it sounds like they're both at fault here."

Mel nodded numbly. Cozette sat down across from her and studied her face.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that the note was a defense mechanism, it gave her some feeling of control. Like she's the one who doesn't need him, not the other way around. She does that, you know. When things hurt too much. She shuts them out completely. One time when our seventh grade algebra teacher yelled at us for talking in class, she thanked him for keeping her on task and then went and cried in the bathroom afterward."  
"Oh."

"Yeah."

"What did you do?"

"Followed her and told her we'd shave the teacher's eyebrows off while he was sleeping. That seemed to cheer her up, and she was able to go to class the next day without being too embarrassed or bursting into tears."

"You're a good friend. You must love her a lot."

"I do." Melanie sighed. "She's a difficult, neurotic mess, but she's _my_ difficult, neurotic mess."

Cozette bit her lip, as if debating whether or not she should say something. After a minute or so of waging an internal battle, she decided to ask.

"Are you in love with her?"

"With Ginny?" Mel looked up into the other girl's dark eyes. "No, not at all. I mean, I love her a lot, but she's like my sister. And even if I did, it's not like anything could come of me telling her, or you for that matter, because she's straight and it would just ruin everything."

"And you aren't?"

"Aren't what?"

"Aren't straight?"

"I didn't say that," said Melanie hurriedly. "I said that she is and if I, hypothetically, was in love with her, which I'm not, it wouldn't work out because she's straight."

"I didn't mean to offend—"

"No, it's fine."

They sat in silence, Mel picking at a splinter on the table and Cozette looking at the trees. Melanie wasn't sure why she didn't just tell her new friend that she wasn't straight. Maybe because she hadn't told anyone yet, not even Ginny. Hell, she'd never even said it out loud. Maybe because if she told Cozette about her sexuality, Cozette would tell her about _her_ sexuality and that she was straight and completely wipe out any hope Mel had of maybe getting together with her. It was better to daydream of something that only had the slimmest chance of happening than have it destroyed beyond the slightest hope.

"There's nothing wrong with liking girls," said the shorter girl suddenly, interrupting Mel's thoughts.

"I didn't say there was."

"No, but you implied that there was when you reacted like you did."

"There isn't. Girls are cool. Guys are also cool. Touch whoever you want, just don't be a jerk. How did this even get to be about me and my views on girls liking girls? Why aren't we discussing what we should do about Blondie and Gandhi?"

"You're right," sighed Cozette. "I'm sorry. What should we do?"

"I think we should parent trap them."

"What?"

"You know, Lindsay Lohan playing her own twin to get Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson together? Or, if you're old school, Hayley Mills running around with a terrible haircut."

"I know what _The Parent Trap_ is. I just don't understand how we can use it to get Frankie and Ginny together."

"Oh, you know. The classic 'meet me at this time and place, wearing something nice' and then we lock them in the school gym or something until they're a couple. Or maybe booby trap their cabins with shaving cream and honey? I don't remember particulars, I haven't seen it for a while."

Cozette laughed.

"Me neither, but I'm pretty sure the shaving cream and honey was when Lindsay Lohan was pranking herself."

"That's a drag. Maybe I'll use it on Charlie. I guess we'll just have to sleep on the whole parent trap idea and talk about it later."

"All right."

Neither girl made a move to get on the scooter and go back to Paradise.

"There's probably about two hours or so of sunlight left," Mel said. "We could stay and go exploring or throw more rocks in the lake or just talk. If you're not in a rush to get back."

"I'd like that." Cozette smiled and offered Melanie her arm. "Shall we?"

"I think we shall, good sir. Let's have an adventure!"


	6. Chapter 6

"I think we should go with your original plan," said Cozette, falling into step with Melanie in between classes the next day.

She, Boo, and Sasha were on the way to health class, one of the few classes they didn't share with Ginny. Ginny was a teacher's assistant during that period and had already left their company to head to the second floor. Cozette had likely seen the absence and made her move.

"So we accept Lindsay Lohan as our lord and savior?"

"Yep."

"Wait, what plan?" asked Boo.

"My house after ballet? We can even watch the movie for inspiration."

"What are you two freaks doing that you need the guidance of a washed-up child star?" Sasha asked.

"Should I bring anything?"

"Nah, I have forging materials handy. And snacks too."

"What are you two plotting?"

"Operation: Get Ginny Back to Normal…ish," Mel said, realizing that trying to keep it from Sasha was more trouble than it was worth.

"And you're looking to Lindsay Lohan to do that."

"Yes."

"Scripted and pre-crazy Lindsay Lohan," Cozette chipped in. "Anyway, should I meet you there or should we leave from together?"

"Meet me at my house. Ginny's working for her mom tonight so she won't be coming around but she'd definitely notice us leaving ballet together."

"Perfect. Au revoir."

"Is that what it's like for Roman and Carl when they walk into our conversations?" Boo asked Sasha.

"Probably worse. They're slower than we are. So Mel, you're parent trapping Ginny with Frankie?"

"Wait, what?" Boo made a face. "They said nothing about Frankie or _The Parent Trap_."

"Keep up, Boo. Ginny's been crazier than usual because of Wonder Boy and also her mom's crazy, but if she was parent trapping Ginny's parents she would have involved us and not the outsider, so I assume it's about the boy, not the grown ups."

"And where did you get parent trapping?"

"Context clues. Getting two people together and pre-insanity LiLo? Obvious."

"Good work, Sherlock. If the whole dance career thing doesn't work out for you, you could totally go into being a consulting detective," said Mel. "You can't mention this to Ginny, got it?"

"Of course not."

"Fine. But if she ends up being worse because of you, I'm not driving you anywhere ever again."

XXX

"Okay," said Melanie, chewing up the last Red Vine, "read me what you have so far."

"'Virginia, I know it's been some time since we've talked, but I'd like to speak with you in person some time if that's not too much trouble. I feel like there are things that need to be said and explanations that need to be made. If you can, will you please meet me in the dance studio this Friday at 8 o'clock? Frankie.'"

"Geeze, is that really how he writes?"

"More or less. Now let's hear yours."

"'Frankie, I know things have been weird between us since...that thing...but I want to see you and ask you some questions and maybe try to talk things out? I'll be at Madame Fanny's on Friday at 8 if you can make it. It's very important. Ginny.'"

"That's a pretty good imitation of her handwriting." Cozette compared the note Melanie had just written to a note Ginny had written reminding Mel about going shopping in Oxnard the next weekend. "Same swirly g's and everything."

"I've had practice."

"They're going to know it was us," Cozette said as she folded her piece of paper.

"So? If it works they'll thank us. If not, at least they'll have some kind of closure."

"Smart. I like you, Melanie Segal," she grinned and tucked a strand Mel's long brown hair behind her ear.

Mel's heart skipped a beat and she fiddled with her note so she wouldn't have to look at Cozette.

"You're pretty cool yourself."

"Is that why you never make eye contact with me?"

"I make eye contact with you!"

"Not for longer than two seconds at a time."

"Any longer than that and I'm a serial killer."

"What are you scared of?"

"I'm not scared of anything!"

"Then prove it." Cozette slid her fingers under Mel's chin and eased it toward her. "Don't look away for a whole minute. And no talking."

"Fine."

Melanie was never one to back down from a challenge, but only a few seconds into her dare she wished she'd chickened out of this one. Cozette's eyes were so big and brown and...deep. Like she would be able to see her thoughts, her soul. She wasn't sure she was ready for that. The intensity in her friend's eyes was so...overwhelming. Melanie felt hypnotized. Naked. Raw. All the words that described how she felt were going to tumble out of her mouth at any second.

"Cozette, I can't..."

"Shh..."

Her breathing had quickened, as if the air from her lungs wanted to form a protective barrier around her, a barrier that was normally made up of flippant words and jokes and emotional distance. She found herself wanting badly to look away yet wanting to never stop looking. It was almost painful how beautiful Cozette was, almost a crime that she should be so close to so much beauty, so much warmth, to be allowed to touch it if she just reached out.

She shouldn't want this. She should be drooling over boys, like Ginny. Like Boo. Like Sasha. Like every normal female on the planet.

But damn if she didn't want to see how Cozette's lips felt on hers.

Melanie moved her head forward ever so slightly, ever so imperceptibly. It wasn't that she was feeling brave. She just couldn't imagine doing anything else. There was no other option but to lean forward, to see if there was the slightest chance that this amazing, breathtaking girl would mirror her moves.

And then, all too quickly, all too slowly, she felt it. That connection. Her eyes were closed and she was kissing Cozette. Cozette was kissing her.

It didn't feel like fireworks. It felt like...honey. Smooth and golden and light and warm and perfect. It wasn't frenzied or uncomfortable. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to be sitting there kissing her.

"I like you, Melanie Segal," said Cozette quietly when they broke the kiss. The girls still sat close, their foreheads touching.

"You're pretty cool yourself." Mel's voice was soft too, but she was grinning from ear to ear.

**A/N: I feel pretty good about ending it here. I never intended to fix the Ginny/Frankie thing, it just kind of happened. If anyone has particularly strong feelings about me resolving EVERYTHING (such as Mel coming out and Grankie happening and whatever), feel free to message me or leave a review.  
****If not, I'm going to focus my efforts on finishing up my Sashanie fic and a new Cozanie fic called "LAZER PROM."  
****As always, bless you for reading! xx**


	7. Chapter 7

"So what's the scoop, Jolly Green Giant?" Sasha demanded. "I've got homework to do and pineapple chicken in the crockpot."

Melanie was holding her friends in the dressing room after ballet, waiting until everyone else was gone to make her announcement. She'd wanted to tell them all day, but the moment never seemed right. After Rae-Rae and Matisse finally straggled out, she shut the door.

"I have something to tell you guys."

"You killed a man."

"We're adopted."

"Scruffy didn't really go to live on a farm."

"Yes, yes, and no, no he didn't. And also..." Mel took a breath. "I'm kind of sort of maybe seeing someone."

"No way!" Boo squealed. "Who is it? Is it Dez?"

"If it's Dez you are five hundred kinds of disowned," said Sasha. "And if it's Charlie, God help us all."

Ginny didn't make a guess, just leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, observing her best friend closely.

"It's Cozette," she said suddenly.

"Oh!"

"I knew it!"

Boo and Sasha looked at Ginny in disbelief, then back at Mel, who shrugged sheepishly.

"She really is hot enough to turn someone," said Boo, awestruck.

"She didn't turn Mel, Boo" Sasha rolled her eyes. "Mel's been a borderline friend of Ellen since Tiffany Koplinski in the first grade."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Mel asked Sasha.

"It never came up. So how long have you and Cozette been doing it?"

"We haven't been 'doing it.'" Melanie scowled, but also tried to fight the blush she felt coming on.

"Whatever, how long have you two been more than friends?"

"Since yesterday."

"That's so cute!" Boo beamed. "Is she going to have lunch with us now? We can go on triple dates! Wait, do your parents know? And are they okay with it?"

"I haven't told my parents yet. They'll probably just think it's a phase. And I found another bottle of Jack Daniels in Charlie's room to blackmail him with and keep him quiet on the lesbian slur front."

"Good thinking. Congratulations on coming out and scoring a super hot girlfriend on your first try and everything. Can I go now?"

"You are excused."

Sasha headed out the door, trailed by Boo. Ginny tried to follow, but Melanie stopped her.

"Ginny?"

"What?"

Mel didn't know what she wanted her best friend to say. Congratulations? Did she want her to cuss her out? Squeal and jump up and down? She just wanted to hear her say _something_.

"Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Concerns?"

"I wish you would've told me that you like girls," Ginny said after a minute.

"Would it have made a difference?"

"No. And yes. All this time when we went to see chick flicks and drool over Zac Efron you weren't being you. You were being who you thought I wanted you to be."

"It's more complicated than that. I wanted me to be straight too."

"Really?"

"I've spent pretty much my whole life trying to convince myself that I like guys because I've seen all the crap gay people get put through. Like Sasha's dad. Like all the guys in theater, whether or not they actually like other guys. I didn't want to tell you about it because I hadn't figured it out myself."

"We could've tried together."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Ginny shrugged.

"So are you okay with the fact that it's Cozette?"

"Well, I feel better about it now that I know it's a romantic thing and not a best friend thing. But if you start spending more time with her than with me you'll regret it."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Melanie followed Ginny out of the studio. "You're still my best friend in the whole world. And once Cozette realizes what an idiot I am and dumps me, I'll need someone to cry on and watch chick flicks with."

"If she dumps you I'm going to grande jette her in the throat."

"That sounds painful," Cozette got up from the steps of the studio. "Who are we grande jetteing in the throat?"

"You if you don't treat Melanie right."

"I can agree to that."

Cozette held out her hand for Ginny to shake. The short blonde only hesitated for a moment before taking it.

"I thought you already left," Mel said to her girlfriend.

"I decided to stick around to see how things went. Is that okay?"

"Definitely."

Mel slipped her hand into Cozette's as Ginny started talking about how impossible her world civ class was and how obnoxious it was that she had to do a group project when she always ended up doing a majority of the work and everyone else benefited from it.

And she thought that things—liking girls, being with Cozette, life in general—weren't as complicated as she'd thought.

**A/N: Okay, this is the actual end. I like how it turned out. Let me know if anything needs fixin'! And now, on to LAZER PROM! (And possibly finishing up my Sashanie fic.)**


End file.
